Credit: Imago

Daniel Lewis

Mon 25 May 2026 12:40, UK

Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing midfielder Jovan Lukic from Major League Soccer side Philadelphia Union.

Lukic played a big part in the Union finishing top in the regular season last time out, but the fell short in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

The Serbia Under-21s midfielder played 35 times after joining in February 2025 and is under contract with the Snakes until the end of this year, with the club having an option of a further two years.

He has previously plied his trade in European football wiki LASK, Cukaricki, Torreense and Spartak Subotica.

And it appears Lukic has done enough Stateside to catch the eyes of Leeds and other top tier clubs ahead of the transfer window opening.

Leeds transfer update may raise eyebrows

While it is true Lukic is not exactly a name that would get fans excited, reports suggest he was a key part of Philadelphia Union’s success last season.

At the age of 24, he already has the experience of winning a trophy – albeit not the top one in MLS, with an end-of-season knockout phase determining the winners.

You would imagine Lukic would also be gettable for a small, no-risk fee – another handy box to tick – should Leeds indeed be interested.

It has been reported by Balkans Sports journalist Lorenzo Lepore via X that Leeds and Celta Vigo, who just finished sixth in LaLiga, are both interested in the player.

Daniel Farke has a fair few midfield options, but that is not to say he will not want to add more depth when the window opens for business.

Exactly what would Jovan Lukic bring to Leeds?

Leeds have six central midfielders to call upon right now, but there are question marks over at least a couple of those.

Many of those are also pure midfielders, or deep-lying, which is where Lukic appears to also do most of his operating.

He scored two goals and assisted two more in MLS last season, with a passing accuracy of 83 per cent.

Lukic’s 2.5 tackles per game and six balls recovered per game stand out, although the quality of the league he is playing in must also be factored in.

If Leeds are able to bring the midfielder in for cheap as a squad option, it could make sense. But as we all know, links like this come around a fair bit and it may well just be the agent at play.